she had taken her medication, and that everything else was all right. At the same time, I am frankly haunted that, after a lifetime of labor, of contribution to her family and to her community, her life ended in disruption and trauma, when it should have been rich and rewarding.

I'll never have the opportunity to reverse her situation, but there are thousands of others like her, and, when you think of it, millions who will one day be like her. I believe you have to take the long view of things. I have a four-year-old daughter, and I love her as I loved my grandmother, and I work in this field because I don't want my daughter to grow old as my grandmother did.

I think what we do here today can be a part of that effort, and I want to thank you again, Senator Eagleton, for allowing me to be a part of it.

Senator EAGLETON. The next panel of witnesses are the representatives of the Jewish Community Center Senior Citizens. We have four individuals: Mr. David Schwartz, Mrs. Florence Hutterer, Mrs. Maurice Wilk, and Mrs. Jean Fremerman.

Do we have those two ladies and those two gentlemen with us?

I see we have three ladies and one gentleman, so I am going to ask our panel, starting with the lady just about to be seated at the far end, to give her name, so that we get this for the reporter.

Mrs. NEWBERG. Senator Eagleton.

Senator EAGLETON. Would you give us your name for the record.
Mrs. NEWBERG. I will.

Senator Eagleton, ladies and gentlemen, I am Mrs. Mildred Newberg.

Senator EAGLETON. Let's get the names of the other witnesses.

Mrs. HUTTERER. Florence Hutterer.

Senator EAGLETON. Ma'am.

Mrs. FREMERMAN. I am Jean Fremerman.

Senator EAGLETON. Sir.

Mr. WILK. Maurice Wilk.

Senator EAGLETON. Mr. Schwartz is not with us?

Mr. FREMERMAN. No, sir.

Mrs. SHURIN. I am Mrs. Florence Shurin.

Senator EAGLETON. Thank you very much.

We will start with Mrs. Newberg.

STATEMENT OF MRS. MILDRED NEWBERG, MRS. FLORENCE HUTTERER, MRS. JEAN FREMERMAN, AND MAURICE WILK, REPRESENTING THE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER SENIOR CITIZENS

Mrs. NEWBERG. Ladies and gentlemen, as I stated my name before, I am still Mrs. Mildred Newberg. I was invited here by our staff member of the Jewish Community Center, Florence Shurin.

The senior citizens are usually referred to as retired people and living on a fixed income. When the Government gives us an increase in social security, it always means increase in rents, increase in medicare, increase in cost of living. Many States have the Homestead Act which helps the elderly to secure reduced taxes. Many cities allow reductions in transportation, entertainment, housing for the elderly at a moderate cost, but Kansas City does not have that option.

I realize that this is all repetition, but the facts that I have presented, I hope, will be taken into consideration.

Thank each one of you for your kind of attention.

Thank you, Senator Eagleton, for the privilege of speaking today.

Senator EAGLETON. Thank you very much, Mrs. Newberg. [Applause.]

I would say you are our best crowd-pleaser today.

We will move on now to Mrs. Florence Hutterer.

Mrs. HUTTERER. I have always gone into the necessity of good food, regardless of age, and I think it is extremely necessary for us older people, until we can get this fortified food that is being shipped at a very low cost to our friends, it would be a good idea if the tax were taken off the necessary foods that we buy. I think that would be quite a help and it would give encouragement in the hopes of our older people.

Thank you. [Applause.]

Senator EAGLETON. The Community Center for Senior Citizens, what is the capacity of that facility? Do you operate a facility as a part of the senior citizens where people live and take their meals? Mrs. SHURIN. No.

Senator EAGLETON. There are some in Washington, D.C.

Mrs. Fremerman.

Mrs. FREMERMAN. Mrs. Newberg and Mrs. Hutterer practically covered everything, but I do have one thing I would like to talk about. Those older adults or senior adults who are still working and are allowed to make only $1,680 a year, I would like to see that increased because that isn't very much.

Senator EAGLETON. I couldn't agree with you more. We can't live on either a $90 social security check and a supplemental of $1,600. Mrs. FREMERMAN. It is very hard to do that, and I would like to see something done about that, and that's about all I have.

Senator EAGLETON. I think if this bill goes through, the one that I alluded to in my opening statement, this recommendation of Congressman Mills for a 20-percent increase in social security, as a part of that measure, it will be possible to change that $1,600 figure and we will endeavor to do so.

Mr. Wilk, who is the only gentleman there.

Mr. WILK. I am in a harem up here. I like that; I don't mind that at all. I like it.

I have about four subjects to talk about. The first one is transportation. Now, that is a big problem with the elderly people. As to myself here. I am all right, you see, I drive. I usually pick up five. That is all my car holds. Sometimes, if we have a sixth one, we squeeze them in somehow, one way or another. That is a big problem, the transportation, and there should be a way.

I came in late, I didn't get the whole thing here. I heard something about 2 cents a mile for transportation and the gentleman mentioned that you pay $5 a year.

Senator EAGLETON. Yes; Mr. Welty described that in a program he was operating.

Mr. WILK. Then a dollar for shares and then you get a rate of 2 cents per mile.

Senator EAGLETON. I am not sure of the 2-cent figure.

Mr. WILK. That is the way I understood it. Maybe I am wrong. Senator EAGLETON. Somebody is nodding here.

Mr. WILK. Maybe I am wrong.

Senator EAGLETON. No, sir; we think you are right.

Mr. WILK. Something should be done about that.
The second one is full coverage of medicare.

Senator EAGLETON. At the present time under medicare I think the national figures show that only about 50 or 52 percent of the costs are covered; the patient has to pay the other 48 to 50 percent.

Mr. WILK. The way I figure now, it costs me about sixteen and a half dollars a month besides what the Government furnishes. Between Blue Cross and the supplementary it costs me over $16 a month. If the Government would take care of that, that would help the older adults, it would help them a whole lot. Sixteen dollars to a person who gets an average of maybe a hundred dollars a month means a whole lot. Senator EAGLETON. Go ahead, sir.

Mr. WILK. Another problem we have is housing. As Mildred says, every time we get a raise in social security the landlord comes around and says he wants $5 or $7 a month more rent. By the time they get through raising everything, the raises don't mean anything to us. We are in just the same fix as we were before.

That's all I have to say.

Thank you.

Mr. MURPHY. The Senator just received a call from his Washington office and, if you don't mind my being a stand-in for a moment, we will go ahead.

Mrs. Shurin, you may want to tell us a little bit about what the Jewish Community Center does and what are your programs for the senior citizen.

STATEMENT OF MRS. FLORENCE SHURIN, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF ADULT ACTIVITY, JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER

Mrs. SHURIN. I am the senior director of the senior adult activity at the Jewish Community Center. Our program is an activity program for about 500 senior adults. We share their needs of housing and transportation. It is a problem to and from their various activities. We are aware of the pleas of our senior adults.

We are extremely pleased to be here and to have this opportunity to share with this group and with the Senator our needs and our desires.

I would like to bring forth the fact that it is through the great work of the Senator that we have brought the senior adults, the elderly, to the limelight. I think that we have made everyone aware that the older people must live with dignity and respect, and we applaud the Senator and all on his staff for this privilege.

Mr. MURPHY. Thank you very much, Mrs. Shurin. Thank you for the kind words at this time, not only on behalf of the Senator, but I think I heard a word in there for me, so I will say thanks personally.

I will say also that one of the aims of the subcommittee, for the last slightly under a year and a half the Senator has been chairman is to try to bring home that the older citizens among us do have a role to play and not be relegated in the backroom somewhere. We try to impress on the younger people that you are aging, too. The things you express now, the things you do now, the older people, they are going to affect you as you grow older.

We are able to establish a better health care system for older citizens, that health care s going to be there. It is important that these needs be brought home as everybody's needs.

Mr. MURPHY. Do any of the members of the panel still live in your own homes, still own your own homes?

Mrs. SHURIN. Mr. Wilk is the only one.

Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Wilk, what has been the impact of the property taxes on your ability to continue to live in your own home?

Mr. WILK. Well, I have income property, you see, that makes it different. The load is not on me. I have four units and I rent out three. I know what the property tax is. It is not very high, oh, around about $50 a year, I think.

Mr. MURPHY. I hear some mumblings in the crowd that sounds like there might be some disagreement with you.

Mrs. FREMERMAN. They didn't like what you said.

Mr. WILK. The property taxes go according to the neighborhood. I live in an oldtime neighborhood where property taxes aren't very high.

I will tell you one other thing, when I rent, I don't get high rent either. I have one man that has lived with me for 12 years and he pays the same rent he paid 12 years ago and another one has been there 5 years and she pays the same rent as she paid 5 years ago. I don't raise rent. They are retired people and I sympathize with them.

Mrs. SHURIN. Mr. Murphy, if I may bring out this point, we find that some of the people in our program who rent, whenever there is a raise in social security, the rent goes up, there is no control of rent. We find this to be quite a problem among our people.

Mr. MURPHY. Of course with the rising property taxes people, unlike Mr. Wilk, don't have the income-producing property in which they live. As the demands of the city and States and all public bodies for services goes up, the property tax goes up and they find themselves driven out of their homes in which they have lived for many years. I think it is very important that some relief on property taxes for elderly citizens be given.

I think one of the ladies who spoke first mentioned some kind of homestead exemption or service breaker or an amendment, as Senator Eagleton proposed, be provided by the Senate, which would provide a rebate on income taxes or property taxes paid by those 60, 65, or over for those who rent, because a portion of their rent is taken up with the property taxes. Unfortunately that, as proposed by the administration, wasn't adopted by the full Congress, but we are going to try

again.

Mrs. SHURIN. I might add that we are, too, aware of the nutrition, that with their meager income some of our people are not able to have the proper food, and we are very pleased to hear of this new bill that is going through.

Mr. MURPHY. Do you consider this an appropriate project for the Jewish Community Center to take on since you are eligible?

Mrs. SHURIN. We would be very delighted to be able to take it on. Mr. MURPHY. That is something in which you would be interested? Mrs. SHURIN. Yes, very interested.

Mr. MURPHY. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, for coming today, on behalf of the Senator and all of those here, as well, for the benefit of your time to give us your views.

The next group scheduled to appear is a panel of the United Auto Workers retirees, headed by Mr. Bill Clay, Mr. Gus Lueking, Mr. Earl Wood and Mr. Dan Allen.

While they are walking up we received a question up here from someone in the crowd as a consequence of the discussion of the nutrition bill that asks several questions about that bill. What about people who are on a diet, do they get foods appropriate to their diet? The answer is it provides especially for that. It says the people operating the nutrition program shall make allowances for people on a diet or people having special preferences in their foods, meals will be delivered hot. These are just a couple of questions that came up now.

I want to tell you we have here some forms which will be handed out later in which everybody will be afforded an opportunity to ask questions, express their views. Obviously there is a limited time available, you cannot ask everybody to come up before the microphone and testify.

The purpose in handing out some forms is for those who do have some questions or views that are not being expressed, they will have an opportunity to express them. We will consider those and make them a part of the hearing record and respond to your questions by mail.

Gentlemen, perhaps it would help if you identified yourself, beginning here on the right.

Mr. LUEKING. My name is Gus Lueking.

Mr. ALLEN. Dan Allen, United Auto Workers, chairman of 249, vice-chairman of the region.

Mr. WOOD. My name is Earl Wood. I represent the United Auto Workers retiree groups in Kansas City and St. Louis in the region No. 5 area, and also other retiree groups in Kansas City and a number of organizations, and I think I speak for many, many retired people throughout the State of Missouri.

Mr. CLAY. My name is William H. Clay. I am chairman of the Retired United Auto Workers here in Kansas City.

Mr. MURPHY. Do one of you care to act as spokesman?

STATEMENT OF BILL CLAY, ACCOMPANIED BY GUS LUEKING, EARL WOOD, AND DAN ALLEN, A PANEL REPRESENTING THE UNITED AUTO WORKERS RETIREES

Mr. CLAY. A few days ago Bob Bosch of Senator Eagleton's office called me and asked for us to appear as a group before you people. I accepted. I am very glad to be here.

Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of being with Senator Eagleton in Washington, D.C. I was going to say that he bought us a steak dinner, but maybe I shouldn't say that, he might not like that, because everybody who comes to see him would like to have a steak dinner. But it was wonderful to see him and discuss the problems of the elderly people in our country today.

I am not much of an extemporaneous speaker, as you will find out. We are just a bunch of old automobile workers who put in our lives. building automobiles for you people.